From left, Northeast GOP candidates for city council-at-large: Al Taubenberger, Denny O'Brien, Joe McColgan. Photo by Pamela Seaton.

With the fall election season underway seven City Council At-Large candidates came together recently at the WHYY studio for a political debate that, considering the stakes of the upcoming election, was a testament to measured, thoughtful politics. With seven participants in attendance – five Republicans and two Democrats – the debate covered everything from Occupy Philadelphia to the transparency of government to specific questionable activities of each candidate.

Three of the candidates – Dennis O’Brien, Al Taubenberger and Joe McColgan – have certain characteristics in common: they’re all Republicans and they all come from the Northeast. They all have a specific plan that stems from their experience in their home districts, whether it be education reforms or plans for rejuvenating local businesses. continue reading »

The Somerton Civic Association met for its regular monthly meeting Tuesday to discuss a variety of issues within the community. The first issue addressed was the recent resignation of the association’s vice president, Michael Smith. The board encouraged members to step up and put themselves in the running for the position. Whoever is elected will serve until June 2012, when elections for the entire board will take place. “We would love to see some new blood,” Pat Cantwell remarked.

The board also thanked everyone who participated in the Community Day event last month. The only issue with the event was that the members wished they had more time to plan the festivities. It was noted that if there is a Community Day in 2012, it would be held in the beginning of October.

Officer Rich Simon spoke to the association about recent criminal activity in the area. In the last month there have been 11 burglaries, either physical or attempted.

“Keep your windows and doors locked. Be vigilant,” warned Simon. One patron expressed concern about the delayed response time of police officers to the area when called.

“It took 2 ½ hours for an officer to respond to my call,” said the upset community member, who would not go into specifics of the issue. Another issue brought to attention was the sighting of teenagers partying around the Red Lion Bridge on nights and weekends. Simon urged community members to document any incidents by calling 911. A complete video of Officer Simon’s report is available below. continue reading »

As primary elections approach, NEast Philly will interview council-at-large candidates so readers can get to know the names they’ll see on the ballot.

Today we meet Joe McColgan. The St. Martha’s and Archbishop Ryan grad has traded his days in Walton Park for East Torresdale and his time at the Far Northeast Athletic Association for political involvement.

McColgan got involved in politics long before earning political science degrees from Villanova. What began with knocking on doors to hand out political literature at 9 years old has led to a run for council-at-large.

In between all that, he focuses on raising his tow young daughters in a Northeast different from the one he grew up in.

“Today, everything seems more homogenized, more controlled. I think sometimes there won’t be anything authentic or unique left in Philadelphia by the time my daughters are old enough to notice. When the children of today grow up in a mall, when everything is the same everywhere you go in whatever city or state, I think life kind of loses its meaning.  When you sacrifice that feeling of uniqueness, of tradition, of neighborhoods, for the need for comfort, I think you tend to lose a sense of memory, a sense of feeling.  It’s not just a certain time in one’s life; it is what a place is as well.  That is how you knew it.  Sometimes I believe we just might be in danger of losing those things we care about the most.”

NEast Philly: Why council-at-large and not a specific district? continue reading »

Eight of Philadelphia’s City Council-at-large candidates were at last Wednesday’s Holme Circle Civic Association meeting. We’ll be interviewing them over the next few weeks, but below are their short introductions of themselves. continue reading »